Don’t ever think it’s too late to pursue your dreams as an artist (or anything else!)
The Post and Courier | Charleston.net | News | Charleston, SC
“The Flowering Amazon: Margaret Mee Paintings From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew”
Margaret Mee (British, 1909-88), considered the premier female explorer of the Amazon rainforest, first began her Amazonian journeys in 1956 at age 47 and completed 15 expeditions over the course of three decades.
“As a supremely gifted artist, dedicated botanist and intrepid explorer, Mee observed and painted native plants in their natural habitat and discovered several previously unknown species that now bear her name,” says Ruth Stiff, curator of exhibitions at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Her exquisite paintings of orchids, bromeliads and other Amazonian plants have been widely praised for both their striking artistic beauty and their scientific clarity. Her work combines meticulous observation and detailed scientific accuracy with elegant composition and confident rendering of plant structure.
“Paddling long distances in small, dugout canoes with a single native guide, Mee would often live for weeks with the Tucano people, sharing their food and garnering information about the trees and plants she encountered on her journeys. Scientifically, no equivalent record of Amazonian plants has ever been created. Mee’s remarkable watercolors include the only record of certain plants, many of which may now be extinct.”
On loan from The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this exhibition features 30 spectacular watercolor drawings and showcases field sketches, diaries and native Brazilian artifacts from Mee’s Amazonian expeditions, as well as specimens from the Kew Herbarium. The exhibit begins this Friday in the Garden and Balcony Galleries of the Gibbes Museum of Art and runs through April 2. The exhibit can be viewed during normal gallery hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is adults $9; seniors, students and military $8; children (6-12) $6; and children under 6 are free. For more information, call 722-2706 or visit www.gibbesmuseum.org.
Interview with Margaret Mee here.
One Response
wow, what gorgeous art. thanks for sharing that and thanks for the reminder that it’s never too late. 🙂